


private eye blues

by starkly



Series: you've been thunderstruck [24]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 1950s, Alternate Universe - Detectives, M/M, Private Investigators
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:26:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,098
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28281636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starkly/pseuds/starkly
Summary: “I need your help,” Stark had said when he first came into Thor’s office, as so many often do. “I’ve got this gal and she-- I’m sure I’m just bein’ paranoid, but I’m afraid she might be…”“Unfaithful?” Thor prompts when Stark trails off.Stark shakes his head. “Stealing company secrets and selling them to my competitor.”
Relationships: Tony Stark/Thor
Series: you've been thunderstruck [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064666
Comments: 2
Kudos: 53





	private eye blues

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for NaNoWriMo 2020 and [posted here](https://aleator.tumblr.com/post/636195766587817984) on my tumblr writing blog. This fic was proofread before being uploaded here but is otherwise unchanged.
> 
> Prompts taken from the AU-gust 2020 challenge list on Twitter. Day Twenty-Four: Private Detective AU.

Thor knew that Stark was going to be trouble the moment he walked through his door. Not for any fault of Stark’s, but because Thor’s always had a soft spot for a pretty face, and there were none prettier than Tony Stark’s.

“I need your help,” Stark had said when he first came into Thor’s office, as so many often do. “I’ve got this gal and she-- I’m sure I’m just bein’ paranoid, but I’m afraid she might be…”

“Unfaithful?” Thor prompts when Stark trails off. It seems most of the cases he gets are of the cheating spouse variety, which makes him seriously reconsider why he even opened his own office in the first place. He wanted to do good and help people who didn’t have anyone else to turn to, not take photos of people in compromising positions.

Stark shakes his head. “Stealing company secrets and selling them to my competitor.”

Oh. That sure is a new one.

So that’s how Thor finds himself trailing Stark’s gal, a pretty lady named Sunset Bain who seemed to have a taste for expensive jewelry and even more expensive electronics. Following around society ladies is something Thor is unfortunately used to, so nothing really exciting happens until a few days into his watch. Bain meets up with a man who is definitely not Stark at some fancy restaurant, and though Thor can’t get close enough to hear anything, he does manage to snap a few pictures.

“Ty Stone,” Stark says darkly when Thor shows him the photos. “He owns Viastone. He knows we’re on the cusp of doing something big for IBM and I’d bet my last dollar he’d do anything to get his hands on it.”

Stark frowns and paces his office, hands clasped behind his back. “I need to know what he knows.”

“You want me to keep following Ms. Bain?” Thor asks.

“I need to break into Viastone,” Stark says, and Thor would think he’d stop being surprised by Tony Stark by now, but no dice it seems.

“You can’t break into Viastone,” Thor reminds him gently. “You’re some big time businessman.”

“I need to know if he’s got anything already and what it is,” Stark replies, not persuaded in the least.

And Thor stupidly says, “I could take a look for you.”

“You wouldn’t know what to look for. And Ty’d never let me into his office unless it was to gloat. I’ve got to get in while he’s not there.”

The plan they cook up is ridiculous and Thor can’t believe he’s actually going along with it. He accosts Stone in the Viastone lobby with the folder of photographs of him and Sunset, going on about threatening to reveal the photos to Stark if he doesn’t pay up and generally making a big scene. While he holds Stone up, a well-timed phone call to Stone’s secretary about a made up emergency down in the secretarial pool draws her away from Stone’s office, giving Stark the chance to break into Stone’s office and snoop around. It’s a plan that’s bound to fail and Thor is nearly thrown out of the building by Stone’s security, making his escape at the very last second and hoping that Stark has gotten in and out in time before Stone discovers him.

They reunite in the alleyway behind Viastone, Stark breathing hard from apparently running down all those flights of stairs. He has a folder shoved inside his jacket and he laughs when he sees Thor, which makes Thor grin and laugh too.

They hop in Stark’s roadster and floor it before they’re caught, Stark taking them back to Thor’s office building without saying a word. They muffle their laughter as they stumble up the steps and Thor nearly drops his keys as he tries to unlock his office door.

“I can’t believe we did that,” he says once they’re inside and the door is securely shut behind him. “That was unreal.”

Stark pulls the folder out from his jacket and drops it on the table by the low couch Thor has shoved up in the corner of his office that he sleeps on sometimes when he’s working. “I think I can safely say that it’s definitely time to say goodbye to Sunset. Shame, I really thought she was swell.”

Thor goes to get the bottle of whiskey he has stashed behind his desk and two glasses, bringing everything over to Stark. He pours him a drink, then fills his own glass before sitting down on the couch and reaching for the folder. He flips it open and looks at the documentation inside, not really comprehending any of it. It looks like it had something to do with computers that Thor doesn’t understand.

“How’re you going to know if this was all he had?” he asks.

Stark shrugs and sits down next to Thor on the couch. “We won’t, I guess. We’ll just have to finish the project before Stone can do anything about it.”

Stark reaches for the folder and closes it, then sits back and sips at his whiskey. Thor looks at him, feeling bold from the rush of pulling one over on Ty Stone as well as the drink in his hand.

“This is the most interesting case I’ve ever taken,” he says. “I feel like I actually did something important.”

Stark smiles at him. “You did. Important to me, at least, and the future of all computer science.”

“Neat,” is all Thor says, which makes Stark laugh.

“I’ll pay you double for your trouble, of course,” Stark says. Thor has half a mind to tell him not to worry about it, but he could actually really use the dough so he doesn't. Being a private eye isn’t exactly a lucrative job.

“In fact,” Stark continues, shaking Thor out of his train of thought, “how’d you like to work for me on a more permanent basis?”

“What?”

“You could still take other cases,” Stark says, sipping casually at his whiskey like he hasn’t just offered the solution to all Thor’s current woes with one simple question. “And I would pay you a retainer fee, of course. I promise I’m not as terrible a boss as I seem.”

“No, uh, I’m not worried about that,” Thor says quickly before Stark changes his mind.

“But you are worried about something else?”

He smiles brightly at Stark, saying, “I was just thinking it’d be a shame if we never saw each other again.”

Stark smiles back, raising his whiskey glass in a toast. “Then here’s to a very fruitful partnership.”


End file.
